TamsIJungle

TeliaSonera’s recently-covered MMS solution for iPhones is not an exclusive program developed by the carrier itself. Instead, we will probably be looking at a program from a third-party developer called MobiSpine:

Stockholm, Sweden, November 19 2008 – Mobispine AB (MOBS) the market leader in delivering
mobile solutions to operators announced the availability of the world’s first true Multimedia
Messaging (MMS) for iPhone. Mobispine is now offering a “white label” MMS service for iPhone
to global operators. This new and innovative service will increase revenue per user (ARPU) and
generate profits for operators.

As it looks currently, the program will not be made available to end users (initially), but is sold to carriers only. Thus, end users without a carrier in the back will be left standing in the rain - I personally expect most carriers to deploy the program sooner than later due to the before-mentioned benefits of MMS…

The full PDF press release can be found here…

So far, Apple was very successful when it came towards keeping carriers close - carriers didn’t dare to do anything to the iPhone which Apple didn’t like. However, a large Swedish carrier called TeliaSonera felt like fighting back…

Back to reality: according to MacWorld Sweden, a TeliaSonera representative stated that an official MMS solution will soon become available to Telia customers.

I personally understand why the boys stand up here - MMS is a huge business for carriers. While data costs next to nothing nowadays (one megabyte for a cent or so), transferring a single MMS (90KB) can net the carrier up to three Euros for essentially the same service.

Apple probably refused to implement MMS in order to entice customers to switch to more-affordable push email solutions - while this is understandable (and, to some extent, noble); millions of existing MMS senders were isolated in the process. This unfortunately back-fired…which is why MMS solutions for jailbroken iPhones have always been immensely popular!

Readers currently using PDANet should be extremely careful when it comes to updating their jailbroken apps via Cydia - mobilityToday reports that the boys at June Fabrics have performed a really devious bait-and-switch trick.

While version 1.40 adds a variety of valuable features, it also contains a hidden timer which eventually expires and forces you to cough up 29$ in order to continue using the program.

Don’t get me wrong: developers should (and IMHO have to) stop giving away iPhone apps for free in order to make money more effectively - however, performing bait-and-switch tactics not only is bad business behavior, but also is illegal under some jurisdictions (e.g. Austria and other parts of the EU).

Once again: if you currently use PDANet, don’t upgrade!

Brandon Miniman’s recent rant about the rotten state of mobile flash apparently motivated manufacturers to improve their flash offerings – here is the round-up of all things flash:

ARM and Adobe cooperate on Flash
IMHO, one of the reasons why Java is as popular as it is is the so-called Jazelle unit found in most ARM processors – it can accelerate some types of Java code significantly by executing it in hardware.

Flash may soon get similar treatment according to Reuters - they claim that a series of optimized CPUs is upcoming:

The two companies said in a statement on Monday a series of ARM-based processors for cellphones, set-top boxes and other devices adapted for Adobe’s Flash 10 and AIR should be available in the second half of 2009.

The collaboration, part of Adobe’s Open Screen Project, was endorsed in the statement by several chipmakers including Texas Instruments, Nvidia and Freescale.

Full-featured Flash upcoming
As already stated in Brandon’s rant, the current version of Flash Lite can also be called YouTube enabler – as it is incompatible with most recent flash files.
However, this will change soon according to CNet:

The company has worked on Flash Lite for mobile phones for years, but a new generation of powerful smartphones has enabled Adobe to bring the full-fledged version for PCs to the mobile market. Lynch urged programmers and content producers to treat mobile devices with the same priority as regular computers.

Flash goes Android
One of Apple’s main competitors in terms of buzz (the T-mobile G1) is said to get Flash shortly. This singles out the iphone as one of the few mobile platforms not capable of Flash – I predict that Apple will cave in sooner rather than later…

Word about the latest version of Google’s Mobile Search has been around for quite some time – the program has just been released and can be downloaded from the App Store.

As of now, nobody knows what actually caused the delay. GoogleWatch’s Clint Boultons the blame on apple:

Google wouldn’t comment about why the app was delayed. A source familiar with Apple told me at Google “there’s always a little bit of uncertainty” when it comes to Apple’s app store.
Forget about the fact that Google submitted the app early last week and expected it to be approved and posted by Friday. Apple clearly doesn’t care about partner Google or consumers.
Or maybe there was a technical glitch that prevented Apple from posting it. I don’t know because they haven’t responded to my query for more information.

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In case you feel like joining the Army of Tam, just leave a comment here with your email adress in the email field and we will get in touch ASAP!

P.S. We are looking for Palm, S60, PocketPC, WM/WMS, iPhone/iPod touch and BlackBerry users - whatever you do, don’t hesitate to apply!!!

Firmware version 2.2 is on its way - and there still is no support for cut&paste or local storage of office files (you still need to use e-mail or a web server). Frustration on the end of some iPhone users…I have to admit that I am not surprised one bit.

Apple’s iPhone definitely is a powerful and smart mobile device; with an UI subsystem which has redefined the way we perceive and use mobile. It’s a revolutionary device for sure…but its not a smartphone.

Leaving the hype aside: the device still lacks a plethora of critical business features. Local storage of office files - missing. Editing of Word/Excel files…missing. Business-style IM programs…missing. Name a business-critical thing, and I show you how the iPhone 3G lacks it.

This has good reason, however: Apple never intended these devices to be business-centric devices. The iPhone is an iPod with a phone strapped on: its all about multimedia!

Apple’s priorities for new features confirm this: new media features are added daily, whereas core functions needed for everyday business are left out for ages (cut&paste).

I ca hear you ask me why some people use the iPhone for business then: well - I can open a coconut with a screwdriver…it will just take more time.

If you are about fashion and media consumption(like the majority of users is), the iPhone 3G is for you. If you need business excellency, look Palm, Windows Mobile Smartphone or Nokia E-Series. If you want all-rounders, go for PPC and S60. If you feel like creating content, go for the N-Series.

The beauty of freedom is that all comes down to making the right choice for you. Glossy rags unfortunately won’t be able to make this decision for you…decide wisely, my friends.

What do you think?

Google has been in the iPhone boat ever since the device originally launched, and has offered a plethora of free programs in the last months.

However, their latest app really is a strike of genius, as it allows you to enter search queries by voice. The YouTube video below shows the program in use:

If the program’s voice recognition works as well as it does in the video, owners of iPhones (no information on iPod touch compatibility…no internal microphone in the 1G) are in for a nice treat…

What do you think?

P.S. The update has not hit the App store as of this writing…

The boys at Krusell’s have just provided me with their “top-seller” list for October. In case anyone of you is new to the concept: Krusell is a big case manufacturer who tracks customer purchases in an anonymized (and thus legal) fashion. This data is then used to generate a list of phones sorted by the amount of produce they move - it can be found below:

1. iPhone 3G (1)
2. Sony Ericsson C702 (4)
3. Nokia 3109 (5)
4. HTC Diamond (2)
5. Samsung i-900 Omnia (not in list)
6. Nokia E51 (3)
7. Nokia 6300 (6)
8. Nokia E71 (10)
9. Nokia N95 8GB (7)
10. Nokia 6220 (8)

As usual, the numbers in the brackets are the previous month’s placement. At a first glance, we immediately see that Nokia dominates the top-10 heavily. There are four S60 devices, three dumbphones, two WM devices and one Apple IOS phone in the top-10.

However: the low amount of dumbphones does not prove the “commonly-known fact” that smartphone owners care more about their devices (so much about J2ME). Instead, it shows that smartphones are now wooing fashion-sensitive clients…there is not a single real businessphone in there except for the E71…

P.S. I am fully aware that these numbers are not too reliable when it comes to assuming how many devices were actually sold. However, customers who purchase a case usually care about their phone a lot…which is what makes these figures truly interesting.

As the iTunes store currently does not allow the dispatching of press samples, many developers have switched over to using .mobileprovision files instead. While these files were intended for beta testers rather than members of the press/public, they work pretty well…if you adhere to the following:

You need an iTunes account
This is pretty devious from Apple: if you don’t have an iTunes account, you can’t run mobileprovision files (at least, I couldn’t). So, the first step involves getting an iTunes account (with fake data, select None as payment method and you are set to go).

You need to have at least one app installed and appearing on your PC
Install one app to your mobile device (I used Google Earth - available for free from the iTunes app store), and synchronize your device to make the program appear on the desktop (in the media library, under Applications). If the “Applications” tab is not visible, running .mobileprovision files usually does not work!

Once these two conditions are met, hit the link below for further instructions:
Install an AdHoc distribution

P.S: You can rename the file to anything you like as long as the .mobileprovision extension remains the same. As iTunes requires that each “profile” has an unique name, renaming the files can be very helpful..